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Friday, November 26, 2010

Pomegranate Molasses - How to Make Your Own

I have a very long and overdue post that pays tribute to the Pomegranate. A year ago, the lovely folks at Pom Wonderful contacted me and asked if I'd like to try some of their 100% pure pomegranate juice. No sooner did I respond "yes, please" than UPS delivered six bottles of their 8 ounce juice. I admit that, at first taste, I wasn't as smitten with the flavor of the juice straight out of the bottle. On the other hand, I did mix up a POM Cosmo for a dinner party. We liked it! Hidden in the back of my new (and very large) refrigerator, three remaining bottles were forgotten. (Ahem. I apologize, POM Wonderful, for my bad manners.) Months ago, I saw a photo of Pomegranate Molasses. I was intrigued enough to bookmark Alton Brown's recipe and life got in the way...

I recently spotted a recipe that sounded like the perfect opportunity to use Pomegranate molasses, so I bookmarked it for one our Thanksgiving side dishes. I can't say that I've ever seen it at the various grocery stores where I shop. At last, an opportunity to learn how to make some new had presented itself! I wondered if the unopened juice (in my fridge) was still good, so I cracked one open. No scary odors were detected, when I sniffed it. With Food Network's Alton Brown's recipe printed, I got three ingredients together:

Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. This is where patience comes in. The liquid needs to be reduced for at least on medium-low heat. The recipe said 70 minutes, but I suspect it varies because mine took about 90 minutes.

TIP: To a wooden spoon, I add a rubber band to the top of where the liquid level begins. This way, I can visually determine how much the liquid has reduced. (I do this, often, when I am making a pan reduction sauce.) Since I am starting with four cups of liquid, I know that I three cups of liquid needs to evaporate. Once again, be patient! 90 minutes later, the liquid has become thick and syrupy. I like to freeze a spoon, to test how thick a liquid has reduced (an old jam "canning" technique). The color look like liquid rubies!

The heat is turned off and I let the syrup sit in the pot for 30 minutes. As you can see (photo below, top left), the syrup has begun to "set". Using a sterile and clean canning jar, I begin to pour the pomegranate molasses...

This is such a beautiful color! I'm so pleased with the thickness of the molasses. It's that easy!

This will store in the refrigerator for up to six months.

VERDICT: At firs taste, the molasses makes me pucker a bit (I am very sensitive to sour taste anyway). This is not an unappealing kind of tart, though. It's a very rich and very concentrated flavor of pomegranates. I actually liked it!

I am smitten with the beautiful red color!

So, what does one do with pomegranate molasses? It makes a beautiful glaze. I've seen dessert recipes and savory recipes. On my next post, I'm going to show you how I took Brussel sprouts to a new height. I'm pretty confident I'm going to turn non-Brussel sprout lovers into believers that Pomegranate molasses (and a few other lovely ingredients) will have you spooning seconds on your dinner plate.

You will want to make this dish. I'm that confident. So, hurry! Buy some POM Wonderful juice and make this molasses. It will rock your Brussel Sprout World, as you've known it. It rocked mine. I'm a changed woman. Come to think of it, I'm starting to see Pomegranates as the new sexy food. There are so many recipe possibilties to come. (I'd love to have a lipstick that color...or toe polish. Never mind. It's post-turkey tryptophan!)

Thank you, POM Wonderful. I really do appreciate your product and I'm a believer in the health benefits and I'm plotting to try new recipes, from your website. (Psssst, I'd sure love one of those aprons. They are hilarious!)

A printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

Disclaimer: While POM Wonderful provided me with FREE pomegranate juice, have received no monetary compensation for my recipe or review.

14 comments:

Mmm I love pomegranate molasses and sub it in for regular molasses a lot because I'm kind of picky about the molasses flavor in general. That bitter sweetness just doesn't always do it for me. I've made my own before and it is so delicious! Glad you discovered a use for your POM Wonderful! Such good stuff.

I was so excited to see this piece. I was recently at a party where we were served a beautiful avocado and pomegranate salad which was wonderful. I got the recipe but i had not yet found the pomegranate molasses. Thanks to you I am all set now! In return I'm sharing the recipe:

I've never had pomegranate molasses! Now I know what I'll do with that POM juice I have sitting around :) Have you ever tried the flavored POM juices? Nectarine pomegranate was so tasty! I'm not a fan of sour/tartness either and this really made me love it.

thks for the post and recipe....I always have to drive out of my way for this stuff. I always use it on ham. Use in instead or reg molasses in nigela's lawsons coked up ham. (I have been using rootbeer instead of coke, myself) It's the most amazing ham you will ever eat. If I don't bring this to family xmas or thanksgiving dinners there is alot of grief from them all. Now I will have a ready supply and I plan on giving it out for gifts for them to make the ham themselves.

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